QUICK, CORRECT RESPONSE STILL CAN'T ADVERT TRAGEDY

All the right things happened when there was a loud, angry argument on a busy street corner Thursday afternoon, but it still ended horribly wrong.

The right: Several people heard the argument, watched it escalate and called 911. Police roared to the scene within three minutes with sirens blaring and lights flashing.

The wrong: Just as Officer Billy David pulled up at the corner of U.S. 1 and Jefferson Street, police say Slavisa Calderas pulled a 9mm pistol from his waistband, slid in a full clip and repeatedly fired into the woman with whom he had been arguing on the sidewalk.

David, the stunned police officer, had no time to stop Calderas, police spokesman Todd DeAngelis said.

"He didn't even have time to radio in that he was on the scene," DeAngelis said.

The woman collapsed, dying instantly. And David ordered Calderas, 28, to surrender, which Calderas did after throwing his semiautomatic gun into the air, its clip empty, DeAngelis said.

Police said Calderas will be charged with one count of first-degree murder.

The name of the dead woman, thought to be in her late 20s, was not released pending notification of her relatives.

Police still were trying to learn Thursday how the couple knew each other, and why Calderas, of Hollywood, repeatedly shot the woman about 12:45 p.m.

The argument "had to do with a medical condition," but police spokeswoman Stephanie Norris would not elaborate.

Another man was with Calderas on the street corner, but he did not participate in the shooting and was not charged, Norris said. Police would not identify the man.

Neighbors said they heard between three and six shots.

"My daughter heard shots, looked outside and the cops were already there," said Denise Stanchak, one of a crowd gathered outside the yellow crime scene tape that surrounded the busy intersection.

"She called me and said, 'Mom, there's a dead person on the street.' I've been here 15 years and I've never seen anything like it," Stanchak said.

Jessica Stanchak and Carolina Tobar, both 14, said they saw two men being questioned in two police cars. One repeatedly said to police, "'I didn't do it,'" Jessica Stanchak said.

"Officer David, unfortunately, got to the scene and saw it happen," said Norris, the police spokeswoman. "It was unfortunate he didn't have time to stop it ... I don't think she [the woman killed) had a chance to run."

U.S. 1 was closed to traffic for several hours while detectives investigated the murder, police said.